Device and method for measuring static charge on flying insects

ABSTRACT

A device and method of use for measuring the electrical charge of flying insects. The inventive device comprises measuring the charge induced by a flying insect and measuring the average of charge deposited on a metal screen due to the impact of multiple of insects on the screen.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional application, No.61/700,448 filed Sep. 13, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Field of Invention

The inventive subject matter relates to a device and method of measuringelectrical charge on flying insects.

Background Art

Insecticides are typically applied to flying insects by spraying theinsecticide with random coating or application based on chance collisionwith the spray.

Some pest traps comprise chemical lures, which attract the insect andare trapped by electrostatically charged particles (U.S. Pat. No.6,041,543 to Howse) or are coated with electrostatically charged powder(U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,810 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,375 to P. E. Howse).However, no method of applying insecticides to flying insects byelectrostatic charge currently exists. Furthermore, no efficient methodto accurately measure static charge produced by flying insects isavailable. Devices and methods to obtain these measurements is ofimportance in designing methods to apply insecticides to flying insectsusing static charge with the minimum amount of pesticide, thusminimizing environmental impact.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The current invention relates to a device and method of measuring theelectrical polarity and amount of electrical charge of flying insects.The electrical charge is principally due to the static charge developedas a result of their movement through the air and the movement of theirwings.

The information derived from the method is applicable to the design ofinsecticidal materials and methods of application by electricalattraction.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1. Diagram of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Current methods of applying insecticides to flying insects typicallyinvolves spraying the material in the vicinity of the insects with theassumption that insects will be coated by randomly colliding withmaterial momentarily suspended in the air as it slowly settles.

Insects create a charge as a result of the insect moving through the airand by the rapid motion of its wings. Application of materials byelectrical charge attraction enables optimal efficacy of the materials.Furthermore, since the material effectiveness is optimized, the effectto the environment is minimized.

In order to design materials and optimal methods for application onflying insects, methods to determine the polarity and charge quantityare needed. An object of this invention is a device for measuring chargein flying insects.

Example 1: Insect Tube Device

The device, which is illustrated in FIG. 1, comprises a non-conductivehollow tube or tunnel (1), made of electrically non-conductive material,such as polycarbonate or other plastic or non-conductive glass or othercoating to eliminate electrical charge. In one embodiment, thenon-conductive hollow tube/tunnel (1) can be covered with groundedaluminum wire to prevent external electrical influence or charge.

At one end of the tube is an opening (3). The fan (5) provides apositive pressure into the device via the opening (3) and encouragesinsects down the tube (1), which are inserted, in a preferredembodiment, through a tube (7). The tube (7) can be angle to providemore efficient entry of a single insect.

As insects proceed down the non-conductive hollow tube (1) they willenter a metal center section (9), where any charge on the insect willinduce an electrical field. The induced electrical field is thenmeasured by the center measurement terminal (13). In this embodiment,introduction of insects through the metal center section (9) arecontrolled so that measurement of induced electrical fields via thecenter measurement terminal (13) is associated with a single flyinginsect.

As the insects proceed down the non-conductive hollow tube (1) towardthe fan (5), they encounter the second measurement point, a screen (11),located adjacent to the fan (5), as illustrated in FIG. 1. The screen(11) is connected to a second terminal (15). In one embodiment, fly baitor other insect attractants can be used to promote insects flying ontothe screen. Charge of the accumulated insects is measured. The chargevia the second terminal (15) is averaged over the total number ofinsects impacting the screen and that are subsequently trapped onto thescreen. To facilitate trapping of the insects, an adhesive can beapplied to the screen (11). Efficient trapping of the insects preventsthe insect from impacting the screen multiple times, which can impactaccurate measurement of charge. The measurement at the screen (11) canmeasure average charge, predicated on the impact of multiple numberinsects.

An electrometer is connected via the center measurement terminal (13)and the terminal connected to the screen (15) to measure chargequantity. In a preferred embodiment, charge associated the static chargeaccumulated by a flying insect is capable of being measured to at leastthe femtocoulombs level. In this embodiment, the terminal connectors forthe electrometer can be any number of different types of connectors forco-axial connection, preferably with quick-release features such asBayonett Neill-Concelman (BNC) type connectors. In a preferredembodiment, connectors that are capable of are able to attenuateinherent electrical noise are used, such as Triax™ terminals. Theseconnectors would be used on either or both the center measurementterminal (13) and screen terminal (15).

The fan (5) is preferably powered by a direct current (DC) power source.The fan speed, by adjustment of the power source to control for the flowof air through the tube (1). In a preferred embodiment, the fan iscapable of running only in a single direction, to ensure that air isprovided through tube opening (3).

Example 2: Method for Measuring Charge on a Flying Insect

Measurement of charge induced via by the flight of a flying insect is ofimportance in designing insecticides materials and methods of their useto optimally apply the insecticide materials to the insects in flight.

In a preferred embodiment, the inventive method measures the inductionof an electrical field by a single insect. Measurement can be conductedin a number of ways. As an illustration, measurement can be obtained asa single insect flies past metal plates or through a metal tube. In apreferred method, the device of Example 1 is utilized, wherein an insectflies through a metal tube and the induced electrical field is detectedand measured by an electrometer.

In a preferred method, a second measurement of the total charge inducedper insect is taken upon impact of a number of flying insects onto ametal screen. In this measurement, an average charge is measurement overthe impacts of multiple insects. In a preferred embodiment, an adhesiveis applied to the screen to ensure that the only a single impact perinsect is measured. Any adhesive can be used as long as it solidlyadheres the flying insect, preventing it from landing more than once.

In one embodiment and study, measurements of static charge were madefollowing the insertion of flies (Musca domestica) into a devicedesigned as in FIG. 1. The electrometer utilized was capable ofmeasurement to femtocoulombs. In this example, the non-conductive hollowtube, or tube/tunnel (1) length was 54 inches, with an inside diameterof the tube/tunnel as 2.5 inches. The tube/tunnel was made of glass andcovered with grounded aluminum wire to prevent external electoralinfluence. The measurement screen (11) was made of aluminum. Themeasurement screen was covered with a light coat of adhesive. In thisembodiment, the adhesive was Catchmaster™ Glue (Atlantic Paste and Glue,170 53^(rd) Street, Brooklyn, N.Y.).

The conditions during the study consisted of a relative humidity of 30%and a temperature of 73° F. Flies were attracted toward the screen byfly bait and water. Flies were preconditioned by removing food and waterfor 4 hours prior to being released into the tube/tunnel. In the study,the results of which are shown in Table 1, 60 measurements were taken,using a total of 104 flies. The flies were removed in between each testand the screen was grounded to zero.

The study, using the example device, resulted in all the measurementsgiving a positive charge for each insect. The average for all flies was+19.0 pC, with a standard deviation of 5.5. The highest per fly chargefor one measurement was +29.4 pC for test #15 (4 flies). The lowest perfly charge was +5 pC in test #18 (1 fly).

# charge of flies on Ave. Charge Ave. landing screen charge # on chargeTest on reading per fly Test flies on screen per fly # screen (pC)¹ (pC)# screen (pC) (pC) 1 1 17.0 17.0 31 2 22.0 11.0 2 1 8.0 8.0 32 2 48.624.3 3 1 18.0 18.0 33 1 18.0 18.0 4 1 11.8 11.8 34 1 7.0 7.0 5 2 28.014.0 35 3 48.0 16.0 6 1 17.5 17.5 36 2 34.0 17.0 7 2 48.0 24.0 37 3 43.514.5 8 1 17.0 17.0 38 2 34.0 17.0 9 2 36.0 18.0 39 3 87.0 29.0 10 1 21.021.0 40 2 23.0 11.5 11 2 44.0 22.0 41 2 40.0 20.0 12 1 19.0 19.0 42 121.5 21.5 13 1 20.0 20.0 43 1 27.3 27.3 14 2 54.0 27.0 44 2 50.0 25.0 154 117.6 29.4 45 1 32.0 32.0 16 2 30.0 15.0 46 2 40.0 20.0 17 1 19.0 19.047 1 18.0 18.0 18 1 5.0 5.0 48 1 22.3 22.3 19 3 62.1 20.7 49 2 46.0 23.020 2 49.0 24.5 50 2 32.0 16.0 21 1 21.0 21.0 51 3 81.0 27.0 22 2 51.025.5 52 2 37.0 18.5 23 1 17.0 17.0 53 1 19.5 19.5 24 2 38.0 19.0 54 114.5 14.5 25 1 22.0 22.0 55 2 40.4 20.2 26 2 42.0 21.0 56 2 35.4 17.7 272 46.0 23.0 57 1 18.5 18.5 28 4 60.0 15.0 58 1 18.4 18.4 29 2 18.0 9.059 2 37.0 18.5 30 1 22.5 22.5 60 3 37.5 12.5 Ave. charge per fly (pC) =19.0 (std dev. 5.5) ¹picoCoulombs

Having described the invention, one of skill in the art will appreciatein the appended claims that many modifications and variations of thepresent invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It istherefore, to be understood that, within the scope of the appendedclaims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for measuring electrical charge of aflying insect comprising an electrically non-conductive hollow tubecontaining a small opening and a large opening located at opposite endsof the non-conductive hollow tube; a metal hollow tube located insidethe electrically non-conductive hollow tube and located with one end ofthe metal hollow tube beginning approximately 30% to 50% down thenon-conductive hollow tube, wherein the metal hollow tube iselectrically connected to a means for detecting electrical charge; ametal screen located between the metal hollow tube and the largeopening, wherein the metal screen is electrically connected to a meansfor measuring the electrical charge of the screen, and a fan inside thehollow tube between the metal screen and the large opening, wherein saidfan directs the flow of air from the small opening, through said screen,to the large opening, wherein insects are directed, by the air flow ofsaid fan, to impact and become trapped on the screen, wherein said meansfor detecting electrical charge is via a co-axial connector that iscapable of attenuating electrical noise of the device.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein said electrically non-conductive hollow tube is made ofplastic or glass.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein said means fordetecting electrical charge is an electrometer.
 4. The device of claim1, wherein said fan can run in two directions and is powered by a directcurrent power source.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein said means formeasuring electrical charge can measure charge at down to at least thefemtocoulomb level.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein said screen iscoated with an adhesive.
 7. The device of claim 1, wherein saidnon-conductive hollow tube is made of glass and covered with poundedaluminum wire to prevent external electrical influence.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, wherein said small opening is angled relative to thenon-conductive hollow tube.
 9. A method of measuring electrical chargeon an insect comprising: inserting one or more insects into anon-conductive hollow tube, wherein said non-conductive hollow tube iselectrically connected to a means for detecting electrical charge,capturing one or more insects onto a screen by air flow imparted by afan, wherein the screen is electrically connected to a means formeasuring the electrical charge of the screen, counting the number ofinsects on the screen, and measuring the charge on the insects by themeans for measuring the electrical charge connected to thenon-conductive hollow tube and the screen.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein said method also includes averaging the charges of multipleflying insects after impacting onto a metal screen.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein said metal screen contains an adhesive layer to adhereinsects impacting the screen.